Lasionycta dolosa (Barnes & Benjamin), 2009

Crabo, Lars & Lafontaine, Donald, 2009, A Revision of Lasionycta Aurivillius (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) for North America and notes on Eurasian species, with descriptions of 17 new species, 6 new subspecies, a new genus, and two new species of Tricholita Grote, ZooKeys 30 (30), pp. 1-156 : 61

Lasionycta dolosa (Barnes & Benjamin) stat. rev.

Figs 52, 53, 164, 220. Map 13

Anarta dolosa Barnes & Benjamin, 1923: 72 .

Lasiestra dolosa ; McDunnough 1938: 72.

Lasionycta staudingeri dolosa ; Lafontaine et al. 1986: 261

Type material. Holotype ♁ [ USNM, examined]. Type locality: Bullion Peak, Hall Valley , Colorado.

Diagnosis. Lasionycta dolosa resembles a pale-gray to brown-gray L. staudingeri with a wider male antenna (2.7–3.4× shaft width in L. dolosa versus 2.2× in L. staudingeri ). These species and L. subfumosa have indistinguishable genitalia in both sexes. The male corona is comprised of a double row of setae. Lasionycta dolosa is restricted to Colorado and can be distinguished from the other species by locality.

Lasionycta dolosa is most likely to be confused with L. quadrilunata in Colorado. Males can be identified without dissection by the width of the antenna, bipectinate in L. dolosa and weakly biserrate in L. quadrilunata . Also, L. dolosa has a narrower hindwing discal spot (quadrate in L. quadrilunata ), and a well-defined orbicular spot (indistinct in L. quadrilunata ).

The CO1 sequences of L. dolosa and L. staudingeri preblei differ by 3.7 %, a very large amount for the genus Lasionycta , and are placed far apart in the leucocycla speciesgroup DNA tree ( Fig. 248 ).

Distribution and biology. Lasionycta dolosa is diurnal and occurs above timberline in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. It flies over gravelly scree. Most adults have been collected from early July to mid-August.

Figures

Figure 248. Neighbor-joining CO1 tree of the North American Lasionycta leucocycla species-group. Symbols and codes are the same as in Fig. 247. No data is available for Lasionycta carolynae, L. illima, L. leucocycla hampa, L. macleani, L. mono, or L. uniformis handfieldi. The illustrated specimens demonstrate the variation in appearance of the species-group and are scaled to the same size.